1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image position confirming device, a method of supporting image position confirmation, and a recording medium, and in particular, to a method of supporting image position confirmation which supports confirmation of an image position at the time that an image recorded on an original is registered at a predetermined position, and to an image position confirming device to which the method of supporting image position confirmation is applied, and to a recording medium on which is recorded a program for realizing, by a computer, the method of supporting image position confirmation.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, digital laboratory systems are known which read an image recorded on a photographic film by an image reading device, carry out various types of image processings by image processing devices on the image data obtained by reading, and on the basis of the image data which has been subjected to the image processings, carry out image output processing such as recording the image onto a recording material or writing the image onto an information recording medium such as a CD-R or the like. In such digital laboratory systems, at the time of reading, by the image reading device, an image recorded on a photographic film, the image which is the object of reading must be registered at a reading position of a reading sensor of the image reading device.
The registration of the image which is the object of reading in cases such as when reading for trimming is carried out or reading of a slide film to be set at a slide mount is carried out or the like, is carried out by the operator moving the photographic film manually while visually confirming whether or not the position of the image which is the object of reading is appropriate with respect to the reading position. Further, even in cases in which conveying of a photographic film by a film carrier and registration of an image with the reading position are carried out automatically, there are cases in which the image cannot be accurately registered at the reading position. Thus, the operator visually confirms whether or not the position of the image is appropriate, and if necessary, manually moves the photographic film.
As a technique for assisting registration of an image by an operator, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) Nos. 9-233273 and 10-210225 disclose, at the time of registration of an image recorded on a film at the reading position, periodically picking-up the state of the periphery of the reading position by a pick-up sensor, and displaying the state as a monochromatic dynamic image on a display. In accordance with this technique, the operator can judge whether or not the current position of the image is appropriate or not by referring to the dynamic image displayed on the display. Thus, there is no longer the need to directly look at the position of the image, and the registration work is easy. Moreover, there is no longer the need to design the layout of the devices at the periphery of the reading position in consideration of the operator directly looking at the image, and the degrees of freedom in designing the device improve.
In a case in which registration of the image is carried out while referring to the dynamic image which is displayed on the display as described above, in consideration of the precision of registration and the speed of the registration operation, it is preferable that the dynamic image displayed on the display is a dynamic image which is extremely detailed and which changes so as to follow, at high speed, changes in the object of pick-up. However, a huge amount of data must be processed in order to display an extremely detailed dynamic image, and thus, the speed of following the changes in the object of pick-up decreases. If priority is given to the speed of following of the dynamic image, if is difficult to display an extremely detailed dynamic image.
Thus, it is currently the state that, in a case in which registration of an image is carried out with reference to a dynamic image which is displayed on a display, the specifications (e.g., the resolution and the like) of the displayed dynamic image are determined such that neither the accuracy of registration nor the speed of the registration work suffers extremely. However, high levels of both accuracy of registration and speed of the registration operation are not achieved.